Ipswich: Man offered to marry teen ‘sex slave’, court told

A MAN accused of being part of a gang which allegedly held a girl as a sex slave offered to marry the 13-year-old and have a baby with her, a court heard.

A jury at Norwich Crown Court heard Surin Uddin told police Hamza Ali made his proposal because he was desperate to have sex with the teenager.

Uddin, 28, made the claim in a police interview which was conducted after he, Ali, 38, Mohamed Sheikh, 31, and Abdul Hammed, 46, were arrested following the discovery of a girl at Sheikh’s former home in Chevallier Street last July.

The men all deny offences including trafficking and rape.

Uddin’s interview was read out to the jury by prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones and Detective Constable Andrew Dibbs.

In his statement Uddin said that Ali told the girl: “Why don’t you marry me. I will give you a kid and everything.”

The court heard Uddin told officers he saw the girl like a sister.

While they were in the house together the girl told him that she had had sex with Sheikh and that Ali had been pestering her, to try to force her to have sex with him.

Uddin told police he advised the girl not to do it.

He said he originally believed the teenager was aged 17 but was shocked when he found out she was actually 13.

The court heard Uddin felt bad for the girl when he found out how old she was and claimed he told her that if she went to the police he wouldn’t stick up for the men in court. He also told police that the girl had said she liked Sheikh.

However, it appeared to Uddin that he was possessive.

When Hammed took the girl out of the house without Sheikh’s knowledge Uddin told police Sheikh said: “How could you take her out without my permission? Did you find her or did I find her?”

The court had previously heard the girl had been brought to Ipswich from London in a hire van.

During the opening of the trial Miss Karmy-Jones said: “They (the defendants) enticed her to travel with them in order to set her up as a sex slave, and use her for their pleasure.

“In order to do so they plied her with drugs and alcohol, and made promises that they would take care of her and give her anything she wanted.”

The defendants all deny conspiracy to traffick within the UK for sexual exploitation between July 1 and 13 last year.

They also deny conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to engage a child in sexual activity, and being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug to the girl.

Uddin of Bethnal Green, East London, Sheikh, of Hackney, and Hammed, of Wellington Street, Ipswich, each deny two counts of rape, Sheikh also denies causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Ali, of Waltham Forest, London denies one count of rape and sexual assault.